It’s March.
Jai Lucas's squad will take on the Missouri Tigers in a 7–10 matchup in the Round of 64 in the West Region. Miami will travel over 1,200 miles to St. Louis, while Missouri makes a much shorter, two-hour road trip.
As we wait until tipoff on Friday, here’s a CanesInSight review on how Miami can avoid a first round exit against the No. 10 seeded Missouri Tigers:
Make Free Throws
Can’t say it enough...
It’s March, the games come down to every point, every possession. Miami will have to make their free throws starting Friday.
Miami will have to make 80+ percent of its free throws if the Hurricanes want to make a deep run in the tournament, especially the first game, since Missouri and the Miami Hurricanes rank in the bottom 300 in free throw percentage.
This game could come down to the end, and free throws will be lethal. Miami will have to make sure they make theirs more than Missouri. Could be the deciding factor in this game.
No Slow Start
Miami cannot, and I mean cannot, have a slow start versus the Missouri Tigers when it comes to Friday.
Miami does not want to be down 11-4 at the first media timeout or something in that direction. You do not want to play from behind all game.
Miami will have to gain the lead early, control the tempo from there, and Missouri will have to play catch up all day.
No Turnovers
There’s going to be turnovers, but Miami can limit them. Missouri is 191 in the country turning teams over, averaging 11 turnovers per game.
Miami will have to take care of the ball. Missouri turns it over about more than anyone in the country, so Miami will have to have fewer turnovers than Missouri. As I say in my Twitter bio, “The team that turns it over less usually wins the game.”
It’s just a plain fact, and if Miami can have fewer turnovers than Missouri, it will be a key to a win.
Take GREAT Shot Selection
I don’t know what type of Missouri will come out in, whether it’s man-to-man, which is expected coming out of the gate, but if the Hurricanes can expose that, the Tigers will be forced to go into the 2-3 zone where they extend the wings, which is what they did to Arkansas this season.
Miami will have to get it into the middle, that is where the Hurricanes want to go against a 2-3 zone and it forces the defense to collapse. Miami started out the season pretty slow against zone defense, but progressed throughout the season with it.
Miami's shot selection is usually pretty good, but Miami will have to keep that up when the Hurricanes take on the Tigers.
Play physical
The Hurricanes will just have to play physical and tough in the paint.
Just make it a brawl in the paint. They need to stay disciplined, avoid early fouls, and focus on playing Miami’s game.
Jai Lucas's squad will take on the Missouri Tigers in a 7–10 matchup in the Round of 64 in the West Region. Miami will travel over 1,200 miles to St. Louis, while Missouri makes a much shorter, two-hour road trip.
As we wait until tipoff on Friday, here’s a CanesInSight review on how Miami can avoid a first round exit against the No. 10 seeded Missouri Tigers:
Make Free Throws
Can’t say it enough...
It’s March, the games come down to every point, every possession. Miami will have to make their free throws starting Friday.
Miami will have to make 80+ percent of its free throws if the Hurricanes want to make a deep run in the tournament, especially the first game, since Missouri and the Miami Hurricanes rank in the bottom 300 in free throw percentage.
This game could come down to the end, and free throws will be lethal. Miami will have to make sure they make theirs more than Missouri. Could be the deciding factor in this game.
No Slow Start
Miami cannot, and I mean cannot, have a slow start versus the Missouri Tigers when it comes to Friday.
Miami does not want to be down 11-4 at the first media timeout or something in that direction. You do not want to play from behind all game.
Miami will have to gain the lead early, control the tempo from there, and Missouri will have to play catch up all day.
No Turnovers
There’s going to be turnovers, but Miami can limit them. Missouri is 191 in the country turning teams over, averaging 11 turnovers per game.
Miami will have to take care of the ball. Missouri turns it over about more than anyone in the country, so Miami will have to have fewer turnovers than Missouri. As I say in my Twitter bio, “The team that turns it over less usually wins the game.”
It’s just a plain fact, and if Miami can have fewer turnovers than Missouri, it will be a key to a win.
Take GREAT Shot Selection
I don’t know what type of Missouri will come out in, whether it’s man-to-man, which is expected coming out of the gate, but if the Hurricanes can expose that, the Tigers will be forced to go into the 2-3 zone where they extend the wings, which is what they did to Arkansas this season.
Miami will have to get it into the middle, that is where the Hurricanes want to go against a 2-3 zone and it forces the defense to collapse. Miami started out the season pretty slow against zone defense, but progressed throughout the season with it.
Miami's shot selection is usually pretty good, but Miami will have to keep that up when the Hurricanes take on the Tigers.
Play physical
The Hurricanes will just have to play physical and tough in the paint.
Just make it a brawl in the paint. They need to stay disciplined, avoid early fouls, and focus on playing Miami’s game.
